>> reporter: tip number one, you could save around $1,000 a year if you brew your own cup of joe or brown bag it. >> you think about the taxes that you, you know, that you have to pay and your regular, you know, just day to day living expenses lying your pg&e bill and cell phone bill the $90 an hour gets eaten away quickly. >> reporter: tip number two, save save save. americans on average only save 3.6% of their income. what we should be saving upwards of 10%. and if you're counting on social security, plan on socking away 12 times your current income, too, because getting old can get expensive. >> i have seen clients pay upwards of $13,000 a month for round the clock care in their homes. it's very expensive. >> reporter: and then there's housing. bringing us to tip number three. you shouldn't spend more than 25% of your income on where you live. a tall order here in the bay area. but keeping this rule of thumb in mind might help you stash cash into your 401(k) or ira. alison and her husband took that advice. they rent two bedrooms of their home to help them offset their mortgage and reac